Which Data Center REITs Benefit Most as Hyperscalers Race to Lock Up AI-Ready Capacity?
In Q4 2025, Equinix reported that 60% of its largest deals were driven by AI workloads — up from 50% just one quarter earlier. Digital Realty disclosed that half of its Q3 bookings were AI-related, with 5 gigawatts of IT load in its power pipeline weighted toward artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, CoreWeave guided for $30–35 billion in 2026 capital expenditure alone, more than doubling its 2025 investment. The hyperscaler arms race for AI-ready compute is not theoretical — it is flooding the data center market with unprecedented demand. The question for investors: which landlords are best positioned to capture it?
Why This Theme Matters Now
The AI infrastructure buildout has entered a new phase. The bottleneck is no longer just GPUs — it is power, cooling, and physical space. Hyperscalers and GPU cloud providers like CoreWeave and Nebius are racing to contract gigawatts of capacity years in advance, signing multi-billion-dollar deals with data center operators. CoreWeave's contracted revenue backlog reached $66.8 billion by year-end 2025. This demand wave is compressing vacancy rates, driving record leasing spreads, and forcing REITs to accelerate development pipelines at historic scale. For data center REITs, the AI capex supercycle is the most powerful demand catalyst in the sector's history.
The Companies: Who Benefits Most
We examined five companies across the data center and AI infrastructure landscape — from established REITs to emerging GPU cloud platforms — to identify where AI-driven demand translates most directly into revenue growth and shareholder value.
1. Equinix (EQIX) — The Premium Interconnection Play
The world's largest data center REIT, operating 284+ facilities across 48 metros in 23 countries, with a focus on retail colocation and interconnection.
Equinix is the quality compounder of the group. Q4 2025 bookings surged 42% year-over-year to $474 million, driven by AI workloads. The company's "Build Bolder" strategy aims to double capacity by 2029, with 58 major projects underway globally. Interconnection revenue — the highest-margin product — grew 8% in Q3 with 7,100 net additions. Management guides 9–10% revenue growth and 9–11% AFFO growth for 2026, with EBITDA margins expanding 200 basis points to ~51%.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | $95.6B |
| Revenue (TTM) | $9.2B |
| Revenue Growth | 6% YoY |
| EBITDA Margin | 45% |
| P/E (fwd) | 60.1x |
| 1Y Price Return | +14% |
Equinix's premium valuation reflects best-in-class interconnection economics, but the multiple leaves little room for execution missteps. Top pick for quality-focused investors.
2. Digital Realty Trust (DLR) — The Hyperscale Capacity Leader
Global data center REIT with 284+ facilities across 31 countries, offering the full spectrum from colocation to hyperscale wholesale leasing.
Digital Realty is the most direct beneficiary of hyperscale AI demand. The company posted its second consecutive year of billion-dollar-plus bookings, leaving a record backlog of nearly $1.4 billion. In Q3, 50% of bookings were AI-related, and the company holds 5 gigawatts of IT load in its power pipeline. Core FFO per share grew 10% in 2025, and management guides for 8% FFO growth and 10%+ revenue/EBITDA growth in 2026. The U.S. Hyperscale Data Center Fund provides additional development firepower.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | $62.1B |
| Revenue (TTM) | $6.2B |
| Revenue Growth | 11% YoY |
| EBITDA Margin | 61% |
| P/E (fwd) | 97.6x |
| 1Y Price Return | +19% |
DLR offers the most direct exposure to hyperscale AI leasing at a lower entry point than Equinix. The 5 GW power pipeline is a significant competitive moat.
3. Iron Mountain (IRM) — The Data Center Dark Horse
Originally a records storage company, Iron Mountain has aggressively expanded into data centers, with 30% revenue growth in 2025 and a 100+ MW leasing target for 2026.
Iron Mountain is the most underappreciated data center growth story. Data center revenue grew 30% in full-year 2025 and 39% in Q4, driven by hyperscale demand. Total company revenue hit a record $6.9 billion (+12%), with adjusted EBITDA up 15%. Management expects data center revenue to grow over 25% in both 2026 and 2027, supported by signed leases. The ALM (asset lifecycle management) business adds a unique second growth vector at 35% projected growth.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | $31.8B |
| Revenue (TTM) | $6.9B |
| Revenue Growth | 12% YoY |
| EBITDA Margin | 32% |
| P/E (fwd) | 47.8x |
| 1Y Price Return | +24% |
IRM trades at a significant discount to EQIX and DLR while delivering faster data center revenue growth. The risk is execution on a rapid build-out from a smaller base.
4. CoreWeave (CRWV) — The Demand Engine Itself
GPU cloud platform purpose-built for AI workloads, operating 850+ MW of active power with contracts from OpenAI, Meta, and leading hyperscalers.
CoreWeave is not a REIT — it is the demand side of the equation, and understanding its trajectory is essential to sizing the opportunity for data center landlords. Revenue exploded 168% in 2025 to $5.1 billion, with contracted backlog reaching $66.8 billion. The company guided for $12–13 billion in 2026 revenue and $30–35 billion in capex. CoreWeave became the first cloud platform to achieve NVIDIA's exemplar status for GB200 and plans to bring the Rubin platform to market in H2 2026. This level of infrastructure spending flows directly to the REITs that house it.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | $43.1B |
| Revenue (TTM) | $5.1B |
| Revenue Growth | 168% YoY |
| EBITDA Margin | 48% |
| P/E (fwd) | N/A |
| 1Y Price Return | +105% |
CRWV validates the scale of AI infrastructure demand but carries substantial execution and financing risk at $30B+ annual capex. A barometer for the theme, not a traditional REIT investment.
5. Nebius Group (NBIS) — The European AI Infrastructure Upstart
Formerly Yandex, Nebius is building full-stack AI cloud infrastructure including large-scale GPU clusters, with R&D hubs across Europe, North America, and Israel.
Nebius represents the earlier-stage end of the AI infrastructure buildout. Revenue surged 411% in 2025 to $534 million, though from a small base. Q4 revenue of $228 million showed sharp sequential acceleration. The company is investing heavily — $3 billion in capex across 2025 — to build GPU cluster capacity. Nebius is pre-profit (EBITDA-negative) and burning cash, but the trajectory mirrors CoreWeave's early stages. For data center REITs, Nebius represents an emerging class of tenants with massive power and space requirements.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | $26.9B |
| Revenue (TTM) | $534M |
| Revenue Growth | 411% YoY |
| EBITDA Margin | -52% |
| P/E (fwd) | N/A |
| 1Y Price Return | +294% |
NBIS is a high-risk, high-conviction bet on European AI infrastructure demand. Relevant as a demand signal for REITs, but not yet profitable.
The Verdict: Ranking the Picks
For direct, de-risked exposure to the AI data center supercycle, Digital Realty (DLR) offers the best combination of hyperscale demand visibility (5 GW pipeline, $1.4B backlog) and reasonable valuation relative to growth. Iron Mountain (IRM) is the highest-upside REIT pick, with 30%+ data center revenue growth at a meaningful valuation discount — the market still prices it as a storage company. Equinix (EQIX) remains the quality franchise but demands a premium multiple that prices in much of the AI tailwind. CoreWeave (CRWV) and Nebius (NBIS) are demand-side validators — their combined $35B+ in planned 2026 capex confirms the multi-year duration of this theme, but both carry significant execution and balance sheet risk.
Risks to Watch
- Power availability constraints: Permitting delays for new grid connections could slow capacity delivery across all operators
- Interest rate sensitivity: Data center REITs carry significant leverage (DLR: 6.4x debt/EBITDA, EQIX: 5.4x); rising rates compress valuations
- Demand concentration: Heavy reliance on a small number of hyperscale AI tenants creates counterparty risk if AI spending decelerates
What to Monitor
- Quarterly megawatt leasing volumes and backlog growth at DLR and EQIX as leading indicators of demand durability
- CoreWeave's ability to fund $30–35B in 2026 capex without dilutive equity raises — a signal of whether the AI buildout remains financeable at scale
- Any moderation in NVIDIA GPU shipment guidance, which would be an early signal of AI capex deceleration